Track shifting device



Feb. 21, 1950 MOMILLAN' 2,498,646

TRACK SHIFTING DEVICE Filed Nov. 5, 1945 Patented Feb. 21, 1950 TRACK SHIFTINGDEVICE John .L. McMillan,

Templeton, Kenly ration of Illinois Springfield, Ill., assignor to & Co.,.Cl1icago,'Ill a corpo- Application November 5, 1945, Serial No. 626,796

Claims. (01. 2544.4)

This invention relates to improvements in track shifting devices and it consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed-out in'the appended claims. The device of the present invention is of the kind intended for use in connection with a conventional railroad track jack for laterally shifting the rails of a track when lining up the latter.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a device of this. kind, which is capable of translating the lifting power of a railroad track jack into a lateral shifting or pushing of the track including the ballast ahead of the ties in the direction of the shift or push.

Another object of the invention, is to provide a device of this kind whichthough of a light weight construction, so thatit may be readily handled 'by :one man in placing it under or removing it from beneath a'rail between adjacent ties, has great'strength to withstand the strains imposed upon it in use without warping or twisting out of shape.

A further object of the invention isto provide a device of this kind which is devoid of any relatively long base and in use has contact at its opposite ends with the ballast and a jack respectively and is engaged at a point between said ends by the rail of the-trackto be shifted for lining up purposes.

Also, it is an object of the invention to provide a device of this kind which has an increased safety factor for the user thereof inthat after a tripping of the jack, the rail base engaging member automatically returns to its normal position ready for another operation so that it is not necessary for the operator to reach under the rail to manually return the same to said position.

Furthermore, it is anobject of the invention to provide a device of this kind wherein the rail base engageable parts thereof are rotatable to present different portions of their active surfaces for engagement bythe rail base and whereby-such parts have a longer period of usefulness.

The above mentioned objects of the invention, as well as others, together with-the advantages thereof will more fully appear as the specification proceeds.

In the drawing:

1 is a top plan view of a track shifting device embodying the preferred form of the invention.

'to be shifted at tl e. start of atrack.shifting-.;op-

gelements'and upon each element is 20' gagement with the base of a rail. Each sleeve 2 eration and relative to the conventional track jack used in operating the device.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through'a part .of the device as taken on the lineE-il-and on thescale of Fig.1.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through a certain rail base engagea'ble member embodied in the device, onascale enlarged over that of Fig. 1 and which will be more fully referred to later.

In general the improved track shifting device, in its preferred form, includes abeam provided at one'end with a bracket for engagement by the lifting toe. of arailroadtrack jack andprovided at its otherend with another brackethavinga blade or spud for so engaging in the ballast as "to'act as theabutment for the device. The beam is constituted by one or-more relativelylong-rigid slidably and rotatively mounted a sleeve or roller for enhas a circumferential groove therein'and in any lpOll'lt of which th corner of the rail base may engage and be backed up by an annular-shoulder. Said sleeves 0r rollers normal position up against the jack engageable bracket by suitable spring means. However, they are capable of sliding on the beamelements away from said bracket under the load of the rail so as to shift the track, as theangle of the beam elements is increased, in the raising or lifting of said bracket by the track jack.

Referring now in detail to that-embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawingthe improved device includes among the parts thereof laterally spaced, straight parallel beam-like elements lt-All. Preferably said elements each has a circular cross section from end to end. These elements are fixed attheir like ends to a ballast engaging bracket H and a track jack engaging bracket !2 respectively, as best appears in Fig. 1.

The bracketll includes a relatively flat body is that is disposed at an upwardly andoutward inclination to the axes of said beam-like members andis provided at the sides with upstanding bracing flanges i l-M. Atthe inner end of said body are sockets l5-l5, one for each member lit-J0 and in which one end of each of said members is engaged and fixed asby the rivets it-l6. Atthe outer end of the bracket body is provided a downwardly extending blade or spud ll adapted to be engaged in the ballast and to act as the abutment for the associatedend-of the device.

are yieldingly heldin the l The bracket l2 includes a relatively flat body l8 that is disposed at a downward and outward inclination to the axes of the beam-like members, and has a central opening [9 therein. This body is provided at its sides with upstanding brace flanges 20-20. At the outer end of said body is formed a toe piece 2!, at each side of which is a downwardly extending lug 2|w-2la, the purpose of which will appear later. The inner end of said bracket is provided with sockets 22-22 to receive the associated ends of the beam-like elements Ill-l and which are secured in place by the rivets 23-23. So that the device may be readily handled in use, there is provided an open loop-like handle 24 that includes a flange 25 and which flang bridges the sockets 22-22 and is shown as secured thereto by the rivets 23-23 before mentioned. However, said handle may be made as an integral part of said bracket.

Mounted on each beam-like element Iii-it toward that end engaged in the bracket I2 is a circular sleeve or bushing 26 which is capable of a rotative as well as a longitudinal sliding movement on the associated member In. Each sleeve, which is relatively short in length, is cylindrical and is provided in its periphery with a substantially V-shaped annular groove 21, thus leaving an annular shoulder 28 at one end thereof, as best appears in Fig. 4.

A helical expansion spring 29 surrounds that part of each beam element between the bracket l l and the sleeves 26-25, and which springs urge the sleeves toward and into engagement with the associated inner end of the bracket it. This constitutes the normal position of the sleeves on the associated beam-like members ill-l8 and when said sleeves are in this position the shoulders 28 of said sleeves are overhung by an upstanding ridge or flange 30 on the associated end of the bracket. This ridge or flange 38 has a somewhat inclinedinner face 32 '(see Fig. 2) which in the placing of the device in position relative to a railroad rail, forms a guide which directs the corner of the rail base flange into the groove 2'! of each sleece 26-26.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated the device when placed in position under a rail 33 of a railroad track between two adjacent ties 34 thereof, with the blade or spud of the bracket I! dug into the ballast 35 to provide an abutment for the device and with the toe 2| of the bracket l2 engaged upon the toe 36 on the lifting bar of a conventional railroad jack 31 appearing in dotted lines. When said toe 2| is engaged upon the toe 36, the lugs Zia-Zia are disposed at each side thereof and prevent the bracket 1-2 from slipping laterally off said toe 36 in a track shifting operation. A jack of this kind is lever operated and includes a base 38 providing a footing of considerable area and a trip 39 for dropping the load.

When the jack is placed in position, it is tipped at its upper end toward the rail and its lifting toe 3G is at the bottom end of its movement in the jack standard and is so disposed that the toe 2i of the bracket I2 is engaged thereon.

When the jack is operated by means of its lever, it will elevate its lifting bar and toe 3t and this will cause the bracket 12 to rise to that distance which will permit such rearrangement of the device as to line up the corner of the rail base flange with the grooves 21 in the sleeves 2 6-25. In this respect it is pointed out that the ridge or flange 363 will prevent this corner of the rail from riding upon the periphery of the shoulders 28 of the sleeves 26 and will guide said corner into the grooves 21 of said sleeves.

In the continued operation of the jack, the bracket I2 is elevated and the device as a whole will fulcrum about the blade or spud I! as its axis. In this elevation of the bracket, the associated ends of the beam elements Ill-l0 are elevated so that they assume a position inclined downwardly from the bracket l2 toward the bracket H. Thus under the resistances afforded by the weight of the load of that portion of the track being lifted, the sleeves 26-26 slide toward the bracket H and as they so slide, said corner of the rail base will sett-e deeper and deeper into the grooves 2'5 in abutting engagement with the shoulders 28-28 of the sleeves 26. This shifts the rail laterally and will carry the adjacent ties therewith. In this movement of the sleeves, the springs 29-29 of course are placed under compression.

When the limit of movement of the bar and toe 36 of the jack is reached, the trip 39 of said jack is released and this drops the elevated rail and ties suddenly with tremendous impact which sets the track more nearly to its former position than can be otherwise accomplished. If more shifting of the rail is required, the device and the jack are reset into position for another shift as before described.

It is pointed out that when the jack is tripped to drop its load, the springs 29 return the sleeves or rollers 26-25 to the position wherein they again engage the bracket 12. Thus it is not necessary for a workman to reach under the rail and manually pull the sleeves or rollers back from under the rail so that there is no possibilityof injury to the workman.

The device is of simple construction, is strong and durable and will withstand the abuse that track appliances are normally subjected to, without impairing its efiiciency.

While in describing the invention I have referred in detail to the form, arrangement and construction of the parts involved, the same is to be considered only in the illustrative sense so that I do not wish to be limited thereto except as may be specifically set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A track shifting device embodying therein ballast engaging means, a lifting bracket spaced therefrom, means providing a beam connecting said ballast engaging means and said lifting bracket, rail base engageable means rotatably mounted for sliding guided movement on said beam, and means engaged with said rail base engageable means for normally urging it toward said lifting bracket.

2. A track shifting device embodying therein ballast engaging means, a lifting bracket spaced therefrom, means providing a beam connecting said ballast engaging means and said lifting bracket, rail base engageable means mounted for sliding guided engagement on said rigid connecting means, resilient means for normally holding said rail base engageable means on said connecting means in a position engaging said lifting bracket, and means carried by said bracket and overhanging a part of said rail base engageable means when engaged with said bracket.

3. A track shifting device embodying therein ballast engaging means, a lifting bracket spaced therefrom, rigid means of a circular cross section connecting said ballast engaging means and said lifting bracket, rail base engageable means mounted for rotation as well as, longitudinal guided movement on said connecting means, resilient means for normally holding said rail base engageable means on said connecting means in a position normally engaging said lifting bracket, and means on said lifting bracket overhanging a part of said rail base engageable means when the latter is engaged with said lifting bracket.

4. A track shifting device embodying therein ballast engageable means, a lifting bracket spaced therefrom, a plurality of laterally spaced beam members fixed at their ends to said ballast engageable means and said lifting bracket respectively, a rail base engageable member mounted on each beam member for longitudinal guided movement therein, resilient means for urging said rail base engageable member on said beam members toward and into engagement with said lifting bracket, and means on said lifting bracket and normally overhanging a part of each of said rail base engaging members when engaging said lifting bracket.

5. A track shifting device embodying therein ballast engageable means, a lifting bracket spaced therefrom, a plurality of laterally spaced bars of circular cross section fixed at their end to said ballast engageable means and said bracket respectively, a rail base engageable member rotative and longitudinally movable on each bar, resilient means for normally yieldingly holding each of said rail base engageable members in engagement with said bracket, and means on said bracket overhanging a part of each rail base engageable members when engaged with said lifting bracket.

6. A track lifting device embodying therein ballast engageable means, a lifting bracket spaced therefrom, at least one bar fixed at its ends to said ballast engageable means and said bracket respectively and having a circular cross section at least at that end of the bar fixed to said bracket, a circular rail base engageable member mounted for turning as well as a longitudinal movement on said bar and which member has a peripheral groove therein and an annular shoulder for engagement with a corner of a rail base, and resilient means engaged with said member and normally urging it toward said bracket.

7. A track lifting device embodying therein ballast engageable means, a lifting bracket spaced therefrom, at least one bar fixed at its ends to said ballast engageable means and said bracket respectively and having a circular cross section at least at that end of the bar fixed to said bracket, a circular rail base engageable member mounted for turning as well as a longitudinal movement on said bar and which member has a peripheral groove therein and an annular shoulder for engagement with a corner of a rail base, resilient means engaged with said member and normally urging it toward said bracket, and means on said bracket and overhanging said annular shoulder on said member when the latter is engaged with said bracket for guiding said rail base corner into said groove.

8. A track shifting device embodying therein ballast engaging means, a lifting bracket spaced therefrom, means providing a beam connecting said ballast engaging means and said lifting bracket, rail base engageable means mounted for sliding guided engagement on said rigid connecting means, and means carried by said bracket and overhanging a part of said rail base engageable means when engaged with said bracket.

9. A track lifting device embodying therein ballast engageable means, a lifting bracket spaced therefrom, at least one bar fixed at its ends to said ballast engageable means and said bracket respectively and having a circular cross section at least at that end of the bar fixed to said bracket, a circular rail base engageable member mounted for turning as well as a longitudinal movement on said bar and which member has a peripheral groove therein and an annular shoulder for engagement with a corner of a rail base.

10. A track shifting device embodying therein ballast engaging means, jack engageable means spaced therefrom, means providing a beam connecting said ballast engaging means and said jack engageable means, rail base engageable means slidably mounted on said beam, means engaged with said rail base engageable means for normally urging it toward said jack engageable means, and means on said jack engageable means overhanging a part of said rail base engageable means when the latter has been moved by said means engaged therewith to the limit of its movement toward said-jack engageable means.

JOHN L. McMILLAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,128,257 Reilly Feb. 9, 1915 1,947,537 Spagna Feb. 20, 1934 

